Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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470. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of IDA site visits by county in each quarter of 2019; the percentage of visits in each county as a percentage of the number of visits nationally in 2019, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3688/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland's performance in 2019 represented a record year of growth under the agency's strategy for the 2015-2019 period. 

By the end of last year, total employment in the agency's client companies stood at over 245,000 people. Every region in Ireland has seen foreign direct investment-driven employment gains. There are now over 138,000 people employed across 724 firms in IDA client companies located outside of Dublin, which represents 57% of all IDA client-supported jobs. 

I am determined, together with the IDA, to see this trend continue and we will be doing everything possible in 2020 to encourage more firms to invest further in the regions.

When it comes to foreign direct investment, FDI, site visits do represent a valuable tool through which investors can be encouraged to invest in regional areas. However, as I have said before, site visit activity does not necessarily reflect investment potential, as a significant percentage of all new FDI comes from existing IDA client companies.

The table below details the number of IDA site visits per county for all four quarters of 2019 and the percentage of the total national number that these visits represent.